Light emitting element

ABSTRACT

A light emitting element includes: a substrate; a base layer disposed on the substrate; at least one rod-shaped light emitting portion comprising: a first conductivity type semiconductor rod disposed on the base layer and having a plurality of side surfaces arranged to form a polygonal column shape, an active layer formed of a semiconductor and covering the side surfaces of the first conductivity type semiconductor rod, and a second conductive type semiconductor layer covering the active layer. The active layer includes a plurality of well layers respectively disposed over at least two adjacent side surfaces among the plurality of side surfaces of the first conductivity type semiconductor rod. Adjacent well layers among the plurality of well layers are separated from each other along a ridge line where the at least two adjacent side surfaces are in contact with each other.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/337,851, filed on Mar. 28, 2019, which is a national stageapplication of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2017/034908, filed on Sep. 27,2017, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2016-192031, filed on Sep. 29, 2016, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a light emitting element.

In recent years, rod-shaped light emitting elements including rod-shapedstructures have attracted attention (see, for example, JP 2013-004661 A,JP 2015-142020 A, and JP 2015-508941. A rod-shaped light emittingelement includes one or more semiconductor rods, each made of a firstconductivity type semiconductor (for example, an n-type semiconductor),an active layer covering a surface of the rod, and a second conductivitytype semiconductor layer (for example, a p-type semiconductor layer)covering the active layer.

The rod-shaped light emitting element has an advantage that it can havea wide light emitting area per unit volume, compared to a conventionallight emitting element, because the entire surface of its semiconductorrod can serve as a light emitting surface.

SUMMARY

The typical rod-shaped light emitting element has one or morecylindrical or polygonal columnar rod-shaped structures having athickness of 20 nm to 3 μm and a length of 100 nm to 100 μm. The lightemitting element having such a rod-shaped structure is not yetsufficiently high in luminous efficiency.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide arod-shaped light emitting element that can have enhanced luminousefficiency.

A light emitting element according to the present disclosure includes: afirst conductivity type semiconductor rod having a plurality of sidesurfaces arranged to form side surfaces of a polygonal column; an activelayer formed of a semiconductor and covering the side surfaces of thefirst conductivity type semiconductor rod; and a second conductive typesemiconductor layer covering the active layer, wherein the active layerincludes a plurality of well layers respectively disposed over at leasttwo adjacent side surfaces among the plurality of side surfaces, theadjacent well layers among the plurality of well layers are separatedfrom each other along a ridge line where the adjacent side surfaces arein contact with each other, the active layer further includes a ridgeportion formed of a semiconductor and disposed on the ridge line, theridge portion connecting the adjacent well layers, and a bandgap of theridge portion is wider than a bandgap of each of the plurality of welllayers.

According to the light emitting element of the present disclosure, theluminous efficiency of the rod-shaped light emitting element can beenhanced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a light emitting element according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a partially enlarged view of a cross section of a rod-shapedlight emitting portion shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is a partiallyenlarged view of a modified example of the rod-shaped light emittingportion.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B ofFIG. 3A.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary cross-sectional view showing a modified exampleof the rod-shaped light emitting portion.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are cross-sectional views for explaining a manufacturingmethod of the light emitting element according to the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 6E and 6F are cross-sectional views for explaining themanufacturing method of the light emitting element according to thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 6G and 6H are cross-sectional views for explaining themanufacturing method of the light emitting element according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of a crosssection of a rod-shaped light emitting portion manufactured in anexperimental example.

FIG. 8 is a TEM image of the cross section of the rod-shaped lightemitting portion manufactured in the experimental example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A light emitting element of the present disclosure includes a firstconductivity type semiconductor rod, an active layer covering sidesurfaces of the semiconductor rod, and a second conductive typesemiconductor layer covering the active layer. The semiconductor rod hasa plurality of side surfaces arranged to form side surfaces of apolygonal column. The active layer formed of a semiconductor includes aplurality of well layers provided over the side surfaces of thesemiconductor rod and ridge portions provided on ridge lines of thesemiconductor rod. The adjacent well layers are separated from eachother by the corresponding ridge portion, and a bandgap of the ridgeportion is wider than the bandgap of the well layer. Thus, carriers areless likely to move between the adjacent well layers, leading toimprovement of the confinement effect of carriers in the well layers.Consequently, the luminous efficiency of the light emitting element canbe enhanced.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail belowwith reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description below,terms indicative of specific directions or positions (e.g., “upper”,“lower”, “right”, “left”, and other words including these words) areused as appropriate. These terms are used to make the present inventionunderstood easily with reference to the drawings and do not limit thetechnical range of the present invention by their meanings. The samereference characters represented in the drawings indicate the same partsor members.

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a light emitting element 1 accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a schematiccross-sectional view of the light emitting element 1, taken along theline A-A of FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the light emittingelement 1 according to the embodiment includes a growth substrate 50, abuffer layer 45, a base layer 40, insulating films 90 and 91, lightemitting portions 5 each having a rod shape (hereinafter referred to as“rod-shaped light emitting portions 5”), and electrodes 70, 71, 80, 81,and 82.

The rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 has a columnar shape, and in theexample of FIG. 1, a hexagonal columnar shape. The light emittingelement 1 includes at least one rod-shaped light emitting portion 5. Thelight emitting element 1 in FIG. 1 includes 21 light emitting elements(3×7 pieces).

FIG. 3A is a partially enlarged view of a cross section of therod-shaped light emitting portion 5 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG.3A, each individual rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 includes a firstconductivity type semiconductor rod (a semiconductor rod 10), an activelayer 20, and a second conductivity type semiconductor layer (asemiconductor layer 30).

The semiconductor rod 10 has part or all of side surfaces 10 c thereofcovered with the active layer 20. Specifically, some side surfaces 10 cor all side surfaces 10 c among the plurality of side surfaces 10 c arecovered with the active layer 20, and additionally, with regard to eachside surface 10 c covered with the active layer 20, a partial or wholeregion of such a side surface 10 c is covered with the active layer 20.It should be noted that in the present embodiment, at least two adjacentside surfaces 10 c (for example, side surfaces 10 c ₁ and 10 c ₂ shownin FIG. 4) must be covered with the continuous active layer 20.Therefore, the expression “some side surfaces 10 c among the pluralityof side surfaces 10 c” as used herein includes at least two adjacentside surfaces 10 c.

“The case where only the partial region of one side surface 10 c iscovered with the active layer 20” indicates, for example, the stateshown in FIG. 3A. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, the side surface 10 c(for example, one side surface 10 c ₁) of the semiconductor rod 10 mayhave a shape such that a part of the side surface 10 c located on alower surface 10 b side is covered with the insulating film 90, whileonly the region of the side surface 10 c exposed from the insulatingfilm 90 is covered with the active layer 20. Specifically, the sidesurface 10 c can have a shape such that when the total area of theregion of the side surface 10 c exposed from the insulating film 90 isassumed to be 100%, the active layer 20 covers a range of approximately70 to 100% of the total area measured from an upper surface 10 a side,while the active layer 20 does not cover a range of 30 to 0% of thetotal area measured from the lower surface 10 b side. It should be notedthat the term “range of approximately 70 to 100%” as used herein isdefined on the assumption that the total area of the region of the sidesurface 10 c exposed from the insulating film 90 is 100%, and does notmean the range of approximately 70 to 100% relative to the area of theentire side surface 10 c. Suppose that, for example, 10% of the area ofthe entire side surface 10 c is covered with the insulating film 90,whereas 90% of the area of the entire side surface 10 c is exposed fromthe insulating film 90. In this case, the term “range of approximately70 to 100%” as used above refers to approximately 63% (90%×70%) to 90%(90%×100%) of the area of the entire side surface 10 c.

In the present disclosure, such a configuration can be obtained when theinsulating film 90 is used to form the semiconductor rods 10 in amanufacturing method mentioned later.

In any sense, from the viewpoint of increasing the light emitting area,the area of the region covered with the active layer 20, which functionsas a light emitting layer, is preferably increased. Specifically, in thefirst sense, the active layer 20 is preferably disposed on all of theside surfaces 10 c. In the second sense, 100% of the region of the sidesurface 10 c exposed from the insulating film 90 is preferably coveredwith the active layer 20. More preferably, both of these conditions aresatisfied.

In addition, preferably, the thickness of the active layer 20 issubstantially the same on all of the side surfaces of the rod-shapedlight emitting portion 5. Likewise, preferably, the thickness of thesemiconductor layer 30 is substantially the same across all of the sidesurfaces of the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5. Thus, a similaramount of light emission can be obtained from all of the side surfacesof the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5.

Furthermore, the upper surface l0 a of the semiconductor rod 10 may becovered with the active layer 20. It is noted that the lower surface 10b of the semiconductor rod 10 is not covered with the active layer 20and is thereby used as a current path to the semiconductor rod 10.

The active layer 20 is covered with the semiconductor layer 30. In theexample of FIG. 3A, the active layer 20 is formed on the side surfaces10 c and the upper surface l0 a of the semiconductor rod 10, and thesemiconductor layer 30 is provided to cover side surfaces 20 c and anupper surface 20 a of the active layer 20.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the rod-shaped lightemitting portion 5, taken along the line B-B of FIG. 3A. Thesemiconductor rod 10 has a hexagonal shape, in which six sidescorrespond to the side surfaces 10 c (side surfaces 10 c ₁ to 10 c ₆) ofthe semiconductor rod 10, and six apexes correspond to ridge lines 10 r(10 r ₁ to 10 r ₆) of the semiconductor rod 10. The ridge line 10 r isformed by the adjacent side surfaces 10 c and extends in thelongitudinal direction (a z direction) of the semiconductor rod 10. Forexample, the ridge line 10 r ₁ is formed by the side surface 10 c ₁ andthe side surface 10 c ₂.

The active layer 20 continuously surrounds the entire outer periphery ofthe hexagonal semiconductor rod 10. The active layer 20 includes welllayers 21 and ridge portions 22. The well layers 21 are disposed overthe side surfaces 10 c of the semiconductor rod 10. The two well layers21 that respectively cover the two adjacent side surfaces 10 c areseparated at the position of the ridge line 10 r in the semiconductorrod 10. That is, the well layers 21 are discontinuous in the outercircumferential direction of the semiconductor rod 10. The ridge portion22 is provided between the two adjacent well layers 21, i.e., at theposition of the ridge line 10 r of the semiconductor rod 10. The twoadjacent well layers 21 are connected by the ridge portion 22therebetween to form the active layer 20 that is continuous in the outercircumferential direction of the semiconductor rod 10.

As mentioned above, because the ridge line 10 r extends in thelongitudinal direction (the z direction) of the semiconductor rod 10,the ridge portion 22 of the active layer 20 also extends in thelongitudinal direction (the z direction) of the semiconductor rod 10,along the corresponding ridge line 10 r.

The bandgap of the ridge portion 22 is wider than the bandgap of thewell layer 21. That is, the ridge portion 22 exhibits the same functionas a barrier layer of a quantum well structure. Thus, the luminousefficiency of the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 can be improvedfor the following reasons.

In the case of lighting up the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5, avoltage is applied to the light emitting element 1. Consequently,carriers are injected into the active layer 20, causing light emission.Here, the well layers 21 are separated from each other by the ridgeportion 22 that has a large bandgap, whereby the carriers can beconfined in the separated well layers 21 having a small dimension.Consequently, the frequency of occurrence of light emissionrecombination in the well layer 21 can be increased, thus making itpossible to improve the luminous efficiency. When a distance between theadjacent ridge portions 22 is sufficiently small, for example,approximately several tens of nm, a quantum effect can be exhibited,thus enabling carriers to be more efficiently confined within the welllayer 21.

Both the well layer 21 and the ridge portion 22 can be formed of anitride semiconductor. For example, the well layer 21 is formed ofInGaN, and the ridge portion 22 is formed of GaN or InGaN that has asmaller In composition ratio than the well layer 21. The bandgap betweenthe well layer 21 and the ridge portion 22 can be controlled by the Incontent (In composition ratio) contained in the corresponding nitridesemiconductor. For the nitride semiconductor, the higher the Incomposition ratio thereof, the narrower the bandgap thereof becomes,whereas the lower the In composition ratio thereof, the wider thebandgap thereof becomes. Thus, by setting the In composition ratio ofthe well layer 21 higher than the In composition ratio of the ridgeportion 22, the bandgap of the ridge portion 22 can be made wider thanthe bandgap of the well layer 21.

In this case, when the In composition ratio of the well layer 21 becomeshigh, crystal strain in the nitride semiconductor that forms the welllayer 21 would become larger, thus deteriorating its crystallinity. Thisdeterioration might reduce the luminous efficiency thereof. Inparticular, when the volume of the well layer 21 becomes large, thecrystal strain therein appears remarkable. However, in the presentdisclosure, the well layers 21 are separated from each other by theridge portion 22 into a small volume. Thus, the strain of each welllayer 21 is less likely to become apparent. In addition, the ridgeportion 22 is formed of a nitride semiconductor that has a low Incomposition ratio or does not contain any In. Thus, the ridge portion 22has little crystal strain therein and thereby acts to relax crystalstrain in the well layer 21. That is, it is expected that the crystalstrain that would be caused in the well layer 21 is reduced by adecrease in volume of each well layer 21 due to the separation of thewell layers 21 at the ridge portion 22, which can improve thecrystallinity of the well layer 21.

Such improvement of the crystallinity of the well layer 21 can enhancethe efficiency of the light emitting element 1. In addition, because thecrystallinity of the well layer 21 is improved by having the ridgeportion 22, the In composition ratio of the well layer 21 can also bemade high, as compared with the case where the ridge portion 22 is notpresent. When the In composition ratio of the well layer 21 isincreased, light emission wavelength shifts to a longer wavelength, thusenabling the formation of the light emitting element 1 that emits lightwith the longer wavelength than in the related art. Consequently, lightemitting elements having a wide range of emission wavelengths from redto ultraviolet rays can be formed by controlling the In compositionratio of the well layer 21 in a nitride-based semiconductor lightemitting element in this way.

In the case in which a layer across a ridge line is provided on the sidesurface of a polygonal column, the thickness of the layer tends to bemaximum at the ridge line. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a filmthickness 22 t of the ridge portion 22 at the ridge line 10 r is greaterthan a film thickness 21 t of the well layer 21 at the side surface 10c. If the well layer 21 is formed on the ridge line 10 r withoutproviding any ridge portion 22, the well layer 21 becomes thicker at theridge line 10 r than at other portions. The greater the film thicknessof the well layer 21 is, the worse the crystallinity of the well layer21 tends to be. Due to this, the provision of the well layer 21 on theridge line 10 r may deteriorate the crystallinity of the well layer 21at the ridge line 10 r. By providing the ridge portion 22, suchthickening of the well layer 21 at the ridge line 10 r can be avoided.

A specific method of making the bandgap of the ridge portion 22 widerthan that of the well layer 21 includes forming both the well layers 21and the ridge portions 22 from nitride semiconductors containing In suchthat the In composition ratio of the ridge portion 22 is lower than theIn composition ratio of the well layer 21.

Another method includes forming the well layers 21 from a nitridesemiconductor containing In and forming the ridge portions 22 from anitride semiconductor not containing In. Specifically, the well layers21 can be formed of InGaN, and the ridge portions 22 can be formed ofGaN.

In either example, the bandgap of the ridge portion 22 can be made widerthan the bandgap of the well layer 21. As mentioned above, the welllayers 21 are preferably disposed over all of the side surfaces 10 c ofthe semiconductor rod 10. Likewise, the ridge portions 22 are preferablyprovided at the positions of all of the ridge lines 10 r. This canachieve the effects exhibited by providing the ridge portions 22 for thewell layers 21 disposed over all of the side surfaces 10 c. It should benoted that the active layer 20 can include a barrier layer (an n-sidebarrier layer) disposed between the well layer 21 and the semiconductorrod 10 and a barrier layer (a p-side barrier layer) disposed between thewell layer 21 and the semiconductor layer 30. Thus, the well layer 21can be sandwiched between the n-side barrier layer and the p-sidebarrier layer.

The active layer 20 may have a multiple quantum well structure (a MQW).The active layer 20 shown in FIG. 5 can include a plurality of welllayers 21 stacked in the thickness direction of the active layer 20. Atthis time, a barrier layer 25 is interposed between the adjacent welllayers 21. For example, in the case of the active layer 20 covering oneside surface 10 c ₁ of the semiconductor rod 10, the well layers 21 andthe barrier layers 25 are alternately stacked one upon the other in adirection N perpendicular to the side surface 10 c ₁ (which coincideswith the thickness direction of the active layer 20).

The well layers 21 are surrounded by the barrier layers 25 having thewide bandgap and the ridge portions 22 having the wide bandgap, so thatcarriers can be efficiently confined in the well layers 21.

As the ratio of the length to the thickness (an aspect ratio) of therod-shaped light emitting portion 5 becomes larger, the light emittingarea density thereof can be made higher. The aspect ratio of therod-shaped light emitting portion 5 can be, for example, 2 or more, oreven 5 or more. The rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 can bemanufactured stably and easily when its aspect ratio is, for example, 20or less. The aspect ratio of the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 ispreferably selected in consideration of the density of the rod-shapedlight emitting portions 5 per the light emitting element so that thelight emitting area becomes large, as compared with the case of aconventional light emitting element having a flat active layer. As usedin the present specification, when the cross-sectional shape of anobject is a polygon, the term “thickness” refers to the diameter of acircumscribed circle of the polygon.

The first conductivity type semiconductor forming the semiconductor rod10 and the second conductivity type semiconductor forming thesemiconductor layer 30 are semiconductors of different conductivitytypes. In particular, preferably, the semiconductor rod 10 is formed ofa first conductivity type nitride semiconductor, and the semiconductorlayer 30 of the second conductivity type is formed of a secondconductivity type nitride semiconductor. For example, when thesemiconductor rod 10 is formed of an n-type semiconductor (for example,an n-type nitride semiconductor), the semiconductor layer 30 is formedof a p-type semiconductor (for example, a p-type nitride semiconductor).When the semiconductor rod 10 is formed of a p-type semiconductor (forexample, a p-type nitride semiconductor), the semiconductor layer 30 isformed of an n-type semiconductor (for example, an n-type nitridesemiconductor).

The semiconductor rods 10 can be formed of wurtzite-type crystals. Thewurtzite-type crystal, which is a hexagonal crystal, is caused to growin the vertical direction while suppressing its growth in the lateraldirection (an m-axis direction) to form a hexagonal shape in a top viewshown in FIG. 1, whereby the rod having a high aspect ratio can beformed. In this case, the side surface 10 c of the semiconductor rod 10(see FIGS. 3A and 4) corresponds to the M-plane of the crystal. In otherwords, each side surface 10 c of the semiconductor rod 10 is the M-planeof the wurtzite-type crystal, and the side surfaces 10 c are arranged toform the hexagonal shape in the top view. As used in the presentspecification, the term “top view” means observation from the zdirection as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

The semiconductor rods 10 can be formed of GaN crystals. At this time,in the semiconductor rod 10, the direction (the z direction in FIG. 3A)oriented upward from the base layer 40 is preferably the [000-1]direction of the GaN crystal.

FIG. 3B shows a modification of the rod-shaped light emitting portion. Arod-shaped light emitting portion 6 in FIG. 3B has an inclined surface(a facet 16 d) between an upper surface 6 a and each side surface 6 c.The rod-shaped light emitting portion 6 has a semiconductor rod 16having the facets 16 d, an active layer 26 covering the outer surface ofthe semiconductor rod 16, and a semiconductor layer 36 covering theouter surface of the active layer 26.

As can be seen from FIG. 3A, the semiconductor rod 10 has ridge lines 10e where the side surfaces 10 c are in contact with the upper surface 10a. A portion of the active layer 20 covering the semiconductor rod 10,which especially covers the ridge line l0 e may be the well layer 21.That is, the active layer 20 may include the continuous well layer 21from the side surface 10 c up to the upper surface l0 a of thesemiconductor rod 10. However, the semiconductor layer formed on thesurface of the semiconductor rod 10 is difficult to have goodcrystallinity at portions on the ridge lines 10 e. That is, if the welllayer 21 is also formed in a portion covering the ridge line e, the welllayer 21 in that portion tends to have insufficient crystallinity. Inthis case, the portion with insufficient crystallinity might become aleak path.

Thus, the upper surface l0 a side of the semiconductor rod 10 ispreferably shaped as shown in FIG. 3B. Also, as can be seen from FIG.3B, the semiconductor rod 16 has ridge lines 16 e where the sidesurfaces 16 c are in contact with the facets 16 d, and ridge lines 16 fwhere the facets 16 d are in contact with an upper surface 16 a.Portions of the active layer 26 covering the semiconductor rod 16, whichespecially cover the ridge lines 16 e and 16 f may be the well layer 21.That is, the active layer 26 may include the continuous well layer 21from the side surface 16 c of the semiconductor rod 16 up to the uppersurface 16 a thereof through the corresponding facet 16 d. When theM-plane of the GaN-based crystal is the side surface 16 c, an angleformed by the facet 16 d and the side surface 16 c is preferablyapproximately 152 degrees. Such a facet 16 d is considered to be the(10-11) plane of the GaN-based crystal. It is noted that in Millerindices, a negative integer is written with a bar above a number,whereas in this specification, a negative integer is written with a “−”in front of a number. Because the semiconductor rod 10 has such a facet16 d, the well layer 21 having good crystallinity can be formed at thefacet 16 d and the ridge line 16 e. The upper surface 16 a may not bepresent. That is, in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 3B, an upperend portion of the semiconductor rod 10 has a trapezoidalcross-sectional shape, but may have a triangular cross-sectional shape.

Referring again to FIG. 2, in the light emitting element 1, theplurality of rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 are disposed on anupper surface 40 b of the base layer 40. More precisely, as shown inFIG. 3A, each semiconductor rod 10 of the rod-shaped light emittingportion 5 is disposed on the upper surface 40 b of the base layer 40.Thus, electrical current can flow the semiconductor rods 10 through thebase layer 40.

The first light transmissive electrode 81 is formed on a surface of thesemiconductor layer 30 of the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5, andthe second light transmissive electrode 82 is further formed on asurface of the first light transmissive electrode 81. The semiconductorlayers 30 of the plurality of rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 areconnected in parallel by the first light transmissive electrode 81. Thesecond light transmissive electrode 82 extends to the upper side of thebase layer 40. The second light transmissive electrode 82 and the baselayer 40 are electrically insulated from each other by an insulatingfilm 91 disposed therebetween.

Light emitted from the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 can beextracted to the outside of the light emitting element 1 through thefirst light transmissive electrode 81 and the second light transmissiveelectrode 82.

A manufacturing for method a light emitting element 1 will be describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. A detailed description of amanufacturing process will be given, by way of example, on themanufacturing process of the light emitting element 1 when using agallium nitride semiconductor as the semiconductor.

In the present disclosure, the well layers 21 included in the activelayer 20 are configured to be connected by the ridge portions 22, eachof which has a larger bandgap than the well layer 21. The inventors ofthe present invention have found that the well layers 21 and the ridgeportions 22 can be simultaneously formed through one lamination processby adjusting the atmosphere, a source gas, and a formation temperature.

<1. Preparation of Base Layer 40>

As shown in FIG. 6A, the buffer layer 45 and the base layer 40 aresequentially stacked over the growth substrate 50. As a reactor forforming the buffer layer 45 and the base layer 40, for example, ametal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) device can be used. Itis noted that the formation of the buffer layer 45 and the base layer 40may be omitted, and instead, the semiconductor rod 10 may be formeddirectly on a growth surface of the growth substrate 50.

As the growth substrate 50, a sapphire substrate, a SiC substrate, anitride semiconductor substrate, or the like can be used as mentionedlater. Here, an example of using the sapphire (Al₂O₃) substrate will bedescribed. For a sapphire growth substrate 50, the (0001) plane ispreferably used as the growth surface. As used herein, the term “(0001)plane” includes a surface slightly inclined with respect to the (0001)plane. Specifically, the growth surface is more preferably a surfacethat has an off angle of 0.5° or more and 2.0° or less with respect tothe (0001) plane.

The growth substrate 50 is preferably pretreated prior to forming thebuffer layer 45 on the growth substrate 50. First, the growth substrate50 is heated in the reactor to apply heat treatment (a thermal cleaning)to a growth surface (an upper surface 50 a). The heating temperature is900 to 1,200° C., and the heating time is approximately 2 to 15 minutesby way of example. By this heat treatment, a crystallographic stepappears on the upper surface 50 a of the growth substrate 50, and thusthe step becomes a formation site of a crystal nucleus.

Thereafter, NH₃ gas is introduced into the reactor to nitride the uppersurface 50 a of the growth substrate 50. The nitriding treatment can beperformed, for example, at a treatment temperature of 900 to 1,100° C.and for a treatment time of 1 to 30 minutes. By such nitridingtreatment, the surface of a nitride semiconductor grown on the growthsubstrate can become the (000-1) plane.

The buffer layer 45 is grown on the upper surface 50 a of the growthsubstrate 50 after the nitriding treatment. The temperature of thegrowth substrate 50 is set to, for example, 550° C., and a source gas issupplied, thereby growing the buffer layer 45 made of GaN. The thicknessof the buffer layer 45 is, for example, approximately 20 nm.

Amorphous GaN may be formed as the buffer layer 45 and then subjected toheat treatment. Preferably, the heat treatment temperature is 1,000° C.or higher, the heat treatment time is approximately several minutes toone hour, and the atmosphere during the heat treatment is nitrogen gasor a mixed gas that contains one or both of hydrogen gas and NH₃ gas inaddition to nitrogen gas.

The base layer 40 is formed on top of the buffer layer 45. The baselayer 40 is, for example, a GaN layer. Further, n-type impurities arepreferably added to the base layer 40. For example, a GaN layer with Siadded thereto is formed as the base layer 40.

The insulating film 90 is formed on an upper surface 40 a of the baselayer 40. The insulating film 90 is formed of an insulating member, suchas SiO₂ or SiN. The insulating film 90 has a plurality of through holes90 h penetrating therethrough in the thickness direction (the zdirection). The upper surface 40 a of the base layer 40 is exposed fromthe through holes 90 h. The through holes 90 h can be formed, forexample, by a photolithography technique. The through hole 90 h can havea shape, such as a circle, an ellipse, or a polygon in the top view (asviewed from the z direction). In particular, the circular through hole90 h is preferable because it is easy to form.

The shortest distance between the adjacent through holes 90 h ispreferably substantially constant among the through holes 90 h. Thus,the semiconductor rods 10 grown from the respective through holes 90 hcan be arranged at substantially constant intervals. When the activelayer 20, the semiconductor layer 30, and the like are grown on the sidesurfaces of the semiconductor rods 10, the distance between the adjacentsemiconductor rods 10 may affect the growth rates of the active layer 20and the semiconductor layer 30. By arranging the plurality ofsemiconductor rods 10 at substantially constant intervals, the growthrate of each of the active layer 20, the semiconductor layer 30, and thelike formed on each side surface 10 c of the semiconductor rods 10 canbe made substantially constant on each side surface 10 c of thesemiconductor rods 10. For example, the through holes 90 h are arrangedin an equilateral triangular lattice shape in the top view. Furthermore,the direction connecting the centers of the through holes 90 h in thetop view is preferably the m-axis direction of the GaN-based crystalthat constitutes the semiconductor rod 10, i.e., the a-axis direction ofsapphire. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor rods 10, eachhaving a regular hexagonal shape and made of GaN-based crystals, can bearranged in the equilateral triangular lattice shape with the sidesurfaces 10 c of the adjacent semiconductor rods 10 facing each othersubstantially in parallel. Therefore, the growth rate of each of theactive layer 20 and the semiconductor layer 30, formed over each sidesurface 10 c of the respective semiconductor rods 10, can besubstantially constant on each side surface 10 c of the semiconductorrods 10, so that the thickness of each layer can be substantially thesame on each side surface 10 c.

<2. Formation of Semiconductor Rod 10>

As shown in FIG. 6B, the semiconductor rods 10 are formed on the uppersurface 40 a of the base layer 40 exposed from the through holes 90 h.In forming the semiconductor rods 10 by using the insulating film 90 tofunction as a mask, the semiconductor rods 10 can be formed to growupward (in the z direction) from the through holes 90 h. At this time,when the nitrided surface of the growth substrate 50 of sapphire is usedas the growth surface, the growth direction of the grown GaN-basedcrystal becomes the [000-1] direction. Thus, the growth direction of thesemiconductor rod 10 also becomes the [000-1] direction of the GaN-basedcrystal. That is, the direction (the z direction) oriented upward fromthe base layer 40 of the semiconductor rod 10 is the [000-1] directionof the GaN-based crystal.

When the growth direction of the GaN-based semiconductor is set to the[000-1] direction, migration of the GaN-based semiconductor issuppressed, making it less likely to cause the growth of the GaN-basedsemiconductor in the lateral direction. Thus, the semiconductor rod 10grows upwardly (in the z direction) while substantially maintaining itsthickness acquired at the beginning of the growth within thecorresponding through hole 90 h of the insulating film 90. Consequently,the semiconductor rod 10 having a relatively uniform thickness can beobtained.

When the semiconductor rods 10 are formed of wurtzite-type (hexagonal)GaN-based crystals, such semiconductor rods 10 tend to grow into ahexagonal columnar shape. Thus, even if the through hole 90 h in theinsulating film 90 has a circular shape, the semiconductor rod 10 isformed not in a cylindrical shape, but in a hexagonal columnar shape. Atthis time, the side surface of the semiconductor rod 10 becomes theM-plane of the GaN-based crystal. If the inner diameter of the throughhole 90 h is large, the thickness of the semiconductor rod 10 alsoincreases accordingly. Therefore, the thickness of the semiconductor rod10 can be controlled by the inner diameter of the through hole 90 h.

The semiconductor rod 10 is caused to grow by supplying a source gaswith the temperature of the growth substrate 50 set to, for example, 900to 1,100° C. The semiconductor rods 10 are formed of, for example, GaNcrystals. In this case, like the base layer 40, a mixed gas thatcontains trimethylglycine (TMG) or triethylene glycol (TEG) as a galliumsource and NH₃ as a nitrogen source can be used as the source gas.N-type impurities are preferably added to the semiconductor rod 10 aswell. For example, silane gas is added to the above-mentioned source gasto form a GaN crystal with Si added thereto as the semiconductor rod 10.The length (dimension in the z direction) of the semiconductor rod 10can be controlled by the supply time of the source gas. By setting thesupply time of the source gas to, for example, 20 to 60 minutes, thesemiconductor rod 10 can be formed to have a length of approximately 5to 15 μm.

The semiconductor rod 16 having the facets, such as those shown in FIG.3B, can be formed by appropriately adjusting conditions for forming thesemiconductor rod 10 (the growth temperature, the flow rate of thesource gas, the inner diameter of the through hole 90 h, and the like).

<3. Formation of Active Layer 20>

As shown in FIG. 6C, the active layer 20 is formed on the outer surfaceof the semiconductor rod 10.

For example, in the case of emitting blue light from the rod-shapedlight emitting portion 5, the active layer 20 is formed by supplying asource gas with a temperature of the growth substrate 50 set toapproximately 800 to 900° C. A mixed gas that contains TMG or TEG as agallium source, NH₃ as a nitrogen source, and trimethylindium (TMI) asan indium source can be used as the source gas. Here, the ratio of anitrogen element to a gallium element in the source gas is preferablyset at 5.5×10³ to 2.2×10⁵. When the ratio of the nitrogen element to thegallium element is within this range, an InGaN film that constitutes thewell layer 21 of the active layer 20 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) can be wellformed. It is noted that if the ratio falls below the above-mentionedrange, In generated from the indium source is less likely to bond withGa or N and more likely to be precipitated as In metal. If the ratioexceeds the above range, In generated from the indium source is morelikely to be discharged from the source gas by H generated from NH₃ asthe nitrogen source, making it less likely to form InGaN.

The ratio of the nitrogen element to the gallium element in the sourcegas is more preferably 2.2×10⁴ to 2.2×10⁵, and particularly preferably4.4×10⁴ to 1.1×10⁵.

It should be noted that the mixed gas may contain H₂ gas or N₂ gas as acarrier gas. In the case of growing InGaN, N₂ gas is preferably used asthe carrier gas because InGaN is less likely to grow if H₂ gas is usedas the carrier gas.

The above-mentioned formation conditions are set so that a portion ofthe active layer formed on the side surface 10 c of the semiconductorrod 10 has a large In composition ratio to become the well layer 21,whereas a portion of the active layer formed on the ridge line 10 r ofthe semiconductor rod 10 has a smaller In composition ratio to becomethe ridge portion 22. Specifically, the ratio of the gallium element andthe nitrogen element contained in the source gas or the like ispreferably adjusted. For example, one of these conditions is varied toform the active layer 20, and then the respective In composition ratiosof the obtained well layers 21 and the like are checked, wherebysuitable conditions can be found.

The reason that the In composition ratio of the ridge portion 22selectively decreases is not clear. However, when comparing InGaN formedon the side surface 10 c of the semiconductor rod 10 and InGaN formed onthe ridge portion 22, it is considered that under the above-mentionedformation conditions, In tends to be selectively discharged from theInGaN on the ridge portion 22. In more detail, it is also consideredthat the InGaN crystal grown on the ridge line 10 r is unstable, therebyenabling the formation of the ridge portion 22. That is, it is presumedthat the growth of the unstable InGaN crystal on the ridge line 10 rleads to discharge of In having a relatively low bond energy from InGaN,resulting in the formation of the ridge portion 22 that has a low Incomposition ratio.

The well layer 21 and the ridge portion 22 can be easily distinguishedfrom each other by a transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of thecross section of the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 (see FIGS. 4and 5). In a TEM photograph of a bright-field image, the well layer 21having a high In composition ratio is colored in dark gray or black,whereas the ridge portion 22 having a low In composition ratio iscolored in light gray or white.

A width 22 w of the ridge portion 22 is the size of one atom or more,and can be, for example, 2 nm or less. It is noted that the term widthof the ridge portion 22 as used herein refers to the shortest distancebetween the two well layers 21 that sandwich the ridge portion 22therebetween.

As can be seen from FIG. 6C, a part of each side surface 10 c of thesemiconductor rod 10 located on the lower surface 10 b side is coveredwith the insulating film 90. Thus, the active layer 20 is not formed inthat part. In other words, only the outer surface of the semiconductorrod 10 exposed upward from the insulating film 90 can be covered withthe active layer 20.

<4. Formation of Semiconductor Layer 30>

As shown in FIG. 6D, the semiconductor layer 30 is formed on the outersurface of the active layer 20. When the semiconductor rod 10 is formedof an n-type GaN-based crystal (an n-type nitride semiconductor), thesemiconductor layer 30 is formed of a p-type GaN-based crystal (a p-typenitride semiconductor). For example, the semiconductor layer 30 isformed by stacking a plurality of p-type GaN layers and/or p-type AlGaNlayers while varying p-type impurity concentrations of the p-typelayers.

The semiconductor layer 30 is formed by supplying a source gas with thetemperature of the growth substrate 50 set to, for example, 800 to 900°C. A mixed gas that contains TMG or TEG as a gallium source and NH₃ as anitrogen source can be used as the source gas. Further, in order to addp-type impurities, for example, Cp₂Mg (biscyclopentadienyl magnesium) isadded to the source gas, so that the GaN layer with Mg added thereto isformed as the semiconductor layer 30. By setting the supply time of thesource gas to, for example, 20 to 60 minutes, the semiconductor layer 30can be formed to have a thickness of approximately 40 to 120 nm.

The formation of the semiconductor layer 30 can produce the rod-shapedlight emitting portion 5.

<5. Formation of Light-Transmissive Electrodes 71 and 81>

As shown in FIG. 6E, the first light transmissive electrode 81 is formedso as to continuously cover the outer surfaces of the semiconductorlayers 30 of the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 and an uppersurface 90 a of the insulating film 90.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6F, portions of the first light transmissiveelectrode 81 and portions of the plurality of rod-shaped light emittingportions 5 are removed to expose portions of the base layer 40 from theinsulating film 90. The portions of the base layer 40 exposed from theinsulating film 90 will be hereinafter referred to as a first exposedportion 40 x and a second exposed portion 40 y. It is noted that anelectrode for passing electrical current to the semiconductor rods 10 isformed on the first exposed portion 40 x. Another electrode for passingelectrical current to the semiconductor layer 30 is formed on the upperside of the second exposed portion 40 y via the insulating film 91. Therespective electrodes will be described in detail below.

In this way, by forming the first exposed portion 40 x and the secondexposed portion 40 y after the formation of the first light transmissiveelectrode 81, the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 can be protectedfrom a removal solution, which is used to remove an etching mask forforming the first exposed portion 40 x and the second exposed portion 40y. That is, the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 are covered withthe first light transmissive electrode 81, thus making it difficult forthe removal solution to come into contact with the rod-shaped lightemitting portions 5. Therefore, the possibility that the necessaryrod-shaped light emitting portions 5 are removed can be reduced.

In any region where the first exposed portion 40 x or the second exposedportion 40 y is formed, the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 may notbe grown in advance, in other words, the through hole 90 h may not beformed at the insulating film 90. On the other hand, without setting theformation positions of the first exposed portion 40 x and the secondexposed portion 40 y in advance, the formation positions of the firstexposed portion 40 x and the second exposed portion 40 y may bedetermined after confirming the presence or absence of any defect in theformed rod-shaped light emitting portions 5. Thus, the first exposedportion 40 x and the second exposed portion 40 y can be formed atrespective positions of the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 thathave defects, such as insufficient growing.

The light transmissive electrode 81 can be formed of, for example, alight transmissive conductive film, such as an indium tin oxide (ITO)film.

<6. Formation of Insulating Film 91>

As shown in FIG. 6G, the insulating film 91 is formed to cover parts ofthe first light transmissive electrode 81, a part of the first exposedportion 40 x of the base layer 40 (a portion where the n-side lighttransmissive electrode 71 is not formed), and the entire second exposedportion 40 y of the base layer 40.

The insulating film 91 is formed of an insulating material, such as SiO₂or SiN. Due to its light transmissive property, Si0 ₂ has the advantageof being capable of extracting light emitted from the rod-shaped lightemitting portions 5 through the insulating film 91.

<7. Formation of Light-Transmissive Electrodes 71 and 82 and PadElectrodes 70 and 80>

As shown in FIG. 6H, an n-side light transmissive electrode 71 and asecond light transmissive electrode 82 are formed. The n-side lighttransmissive electrode 71 is formed on the first exposed portion 40 x ofthe base layer 40. The second light transmissive electrode 82 is incontact with the first light transmissive electrode 81 and extends tothe upper side of the second exposed portion 40 y of the base layer 40.The insulating film 91 is disposed between the second light transmissiveelectrode 82 and the second exposed portion 40 y of the base layer 40,thereby preventing short circuit therebetween.

Then, the n-side pad electrode 70 is formed on the n-side lighttransmissive electrode 71. Furthermore, the p-side pad electrode 80 isformed on the second light transmissive electrode 82 directly above thesecond exposed portion 40 y of the base layer 40.

The p-side pad electrode 80 and the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5are brought into conduction via the second light transmissive electrode82 and the first light transmissive electrode 81. The n-side padelectrode 70 and the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 are alsobrought into conduction via the n-side light transmissive electrode 71and the base layer 40.

In a p-side current path, the first light transmissive electrode 81 isin contact with the semiconductor layers 30 of the plurality ofrod-shaped light emitting portions 5, whereas in an n-side current path,the base layer 40 is in contact with the semiconductor rods 10 of theplurality of rod-shaped light emitting portions 5. That is, theplurality of rod-shaped light emitting portions 5 are connected inparallel.

Each component of the light emitting element 1 in the present disclosurewill be described below. The light emitting element 1 of the presentdisclosure is a so-called semiconductor light emitting element, andexamples of the light emitting element 1 includes a light emitting diode(a LED) and a laser diode (a LD).

(Rod-Shaped Light-Emitting Portion 5)

The rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 has a polygonal columnar outershape or a polygonal columnar outer shape having facets at its upperend.

The rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 can be formed of a semiconductormaterial, such as a group III-V compound semiconductor or a group II-VIcompound semiconductor. Specifically, nitride semiconductors, such asIn_(X)Al_(Y)Ga_(1-x-y)N (0>X, 0≤Y, X+Y≤1), for example, InN, AlN, GaN,InGaN, AlGaN, InGaA1N, etc., can be used.

Semiconductors suitable for each component of the rod-shaped lightemitting portion 5 (the semiconductor rod 10, the active layer 20, andthe semiconductor layer 30) will be described in detail.

The semiconductor rod 10 includes the first conductivity typesemiconductor (for example, an n-type semiconductor). Examples of thesemiconductor suitable for the semiconductor rods 10 include GaN andAlGaN. It is noted that Si, Ge, O, or the like may be added as an n-typeimpurity. The semiconductor rod 10 may be composed of only the firstconductivity type semiconductor material.

The active layer 20 includes the ridge portions 22, each having a largebandgap, and the well layers 21, each having a small bandgap. An exampleof the semiconductor suitable for the well layer 21 is In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N.Examples of semiconductors suitable for the ridge portion 22 include GaNand In_(y)Ga_(1-y)N. It should be noted that when both the well layer 21and the ridge portion 22 are formed of InGaN, the In composition ratioof the well layer 21 is set larger than the In composition ratio of theridge portion 22 (i.e., x>y).

The semiconductor layer 30 includes the second conductivity typesemiconductor (for example, a p-type semiconductor). An example of thesemiconductor suitable for the semiconductor layer 30 is GaN thatcontains p-type impurities, such as Mg. The semiconductor layer 30 mayhave a multilayer structure that includes a layer of a p-typesemiconductor containing p-type impurities and an undoped layer.

(Light-Transmissive Electrodes 71, 81, 82)

The n-side light transmissive electrode 71, the first light transmissiveelectrode 81, and the second light transmissive electrode 82 can beformed of light transmissive conductive material, and particularly, aconductive oxide is suitable as the light transmissive conductivematerial. Examples of the conductive oxide include ZnO, In₂O₃, ITO,SnO₂, and MgO. In particular, ITO is preferable because of its highconductivity and high light transmittance in visible light (a visibleregion).

In this way, two layers, namely, the first light transmissive electrode81 and the second light transmissive electrode 82, are preferablyprovided as the p-side light transmissive electrode. The p-side lighttransmissive electrode can be formed by only one layer. However, in thiscase, as the p-side light transmissive electrode is forcedly providedafter forming the insulating film 91, the parts of the rod-shaped lightemitting portions 5 covered with the insulating film 91 cannot beenergized, thus decreasing the light emitting area. If the formationarea of the insulating film 91 is decreased by forming the insulatingfilm 91 not to cover the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5, thep-side electrode and the base layer 40 are more likely to beshort-circuited therebetween. When the p-side light transmissiveelectrode has a double-layered structure composed of the first lighttransmissive electrode 81 and the second light transmissive electrode82, the insulating film 91 can be formed up to the top of the rod-shapedlight emitting portions 5 to the extent that the possibility of shortcircuit is low, and additionally, even the rod-shaped light emittingportions 5 located under the insulating film 91 can be energized. It isnoted that a portion where the second light transmissive electrode 82overlaps the first light transmissive electrode 81 has a lower lighttransmittance than a portion where only the first light transmissiveelectrode 81 is formed over the rod-shaped light emitting portion withno second light transmissive electrode 82 thereover. Therefore, thesurface area of the portion where the first light transmissive electrode81 is exposed from the second light transmissive electrode 82 ispreferably set larger than the surface area of the portion where thefirst light transmissive electrode 81 and the second light transmissiveelectrode 82 overlap each other. Thus, the extraction efficiency oflight emitted from the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 can beimproved.

It is noted that the n-side light transmissive electrode 71 may beomitted. In this case, the n-side pad electrode 70 is formed directly onthe base layer 40.

(Growth Substrate 50)

The growth substrate 50 for growing a nitride semiconductor typicallyuses an insulating substrate made of sapphire (Al₂O₃) or the like.Alternatively, a nitride semiconductor (GaN, AlN, etc.) can also be usedas the growth substrate.

In particular, the growth substrate is preferably a sapphire growthsubstrate that has the C-plane, i.e., (0001) plane as a growth surface.The growth surface preferably has an off angle of 0.5° to 2.0° withrespect to the (0001) plane rather than is strictly coincident with the(0001) plane. By nitriding such a surface, a GaN-based semiconductor canbe grown in the [000-1] direction.

(Insulating Films 90 and 91)

The insulating films 90 and 91 can be formed of, for example, silicondioxide (SiO₂) or SiN.

(Pad Electrodes 70 and 80)

An electrical good conductor can be used in the n-side pad electrode 70and the p-side pad electrode 80. Suitable material for these electrodesis metal, such as Cu, Au, Ag, Ni, or Sn. When forming the pad electrodes70 and 80 above the light transmissive electrodes 71 and 81,respectively, the pad electrodes 70 and 80 are preferably formed ofconductive material that can be in ohmic contact with the lighttransmissive electrodes. It should be noted that the p-side padelectrode 80 may be provided directly on the rod-shaped light emittingportion 5, and in that case, the p-side light transmissive electrode maybe formed by only one layer (only the first light transmissive electrode81). Preferably, instead of providing the p-side pad electrode 80directly on the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5, as shown in FIG. 2,a region where the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5 is not present isprovided, and then the p-side pad electrode 80 is formed in the region.Consequently, the light from the rod-shaped light emitting portions 5can be extracted to the outside without being blocked by the p-side padelectrode 80, thus improving the light extraction efficiency of thelight emitting element 1.

EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLES

The semiconductor rods 10 and the active layer 20 according to thepresent disclosure were manufactured. The active layer 20 was formed tohave a multi-quantum-well structure (MQW), and the respectivesemiconductor layers were formed by the MOCVD method.

First, a sapphire substrate having a surface offset from the (0001)plane by approximately 1° as the growth surface was prepared as thegrowth substrate 50. The upper surface 50 a of the growth substrate 50was nitrided such that an upper surface of the nitride semiconductor tobe grown on the upper surface 50 a (a plane parallel to the uppersurface 50 a of the growth substrate 50) became the (000-1) plane.Subsequently, the insulating film 90 of SiO₂ (having a thickness ofapproximately 0.3 μm) was formed on the growth substrate 50 byphotolithography so as to have the plurality of through holes 90 h, eachhaving a circular opening with a diameter of 2 μm.

Then, the buffer layer 45 of GaN (having a thickness of approximately 20nm) was formed on the growth substrate 50 with the insulating film 90formed thereon, followed by heat treatment. Here, because the base layer40 was not provided, the buffer layer 45 was formed in this way afterthe formation of the insulating film 90.

Next, the semiconductor rods 10 made of GaN were formed on the followingformation conditions, thereby producing a plurality of semiconductorrods 10, each having a substantially hexagonal columnar shape with athickness of approximately 3 μm and a length of approximately 10 μm.

-   -   Substrate temperature: 1,045° C.    -   Manufacturing time: 40 minutes    -   Atmospheric gas: a mixed atmosphere of hydrogen and nitrogen    -   Carrier gas: 11 slm of nitrogen    -   NH₃: 50 sccm (approximately 2×10⁻³ mol/min)    -   TMG: 20 sccm (approximately 65×10⁻⁶ mol/min)

After forming the semiconductor rods 10, the active layer 20 was formedby changing the formation conditions thereof in the following way. Theactive layer 20 was formed by alternately stacking the barrier layer 25and a layer including the well layers 21 and the ridge portions 22(herein referred to as “mixed layer”) from the semiconductor rod 10side. After forming the six barrier layers 25 and the six mixed layers,finally, another barrier layer 25 was formed thereon. The respectiveconditions for forming the barrier layer 25 and the mixed layer were asfollows. The conditions for forming the barrier layer 25 were designedfor GaN, whereas the conditions for forming the mixed layer weredesigned for InGaN.

[Conditions for Forming Barrier Layer 25]

-   -   Substrate temperature: 810° C.    -   Atmospheric gas: Nitrogen    -   Carrier gas: 8 slm of nitrogen    -   NH₃: 4 slm (approximately 2×10⁻¹ mol/min)    -   TEG: 16 sccm (approximately 4×10⁻⁶ mol/min)

Only the first layer among the barrier layers 25 (the layer in contactwith the semiconductor rod 10), which was made of GaN, was doped withSi. When forming the first barrier layer 25, SiH₄ gas was added as a Sidopant source at 8×10⁻⁹ mol/min to the above-mentioned source gas. Theformation times of the barrier layers 25 were set to approximately 9minutes for the first barrier layer (having a thickness of approximately10 nm), and 4 minutes for each of the second to seventh barrier layers(each layer having a thickness of approximately 4 to 10 nm).

[Conditions for Forming Mixed Layer (Well Layer 21, Ridge Portion 22)]

-   -   Substrate temperature: 810° C.    -   Atmospheric gas: Nitrogen    -   Carrier gas: 8 slm of nitrogen    -   NH₃: 4 slm (approximately 2×10⁻¹ mol/min)    -   TEG: 16 sccm (approximately 4×10⁻⁶ mol/min)    -   TMI: 142 sccm (approximately 12×10⁻⁶ mol/min)

The formation times of the mixed layers were set to approximately 4minutes for each of all of the first to sixth mixed layers (each layerhaving a thickness of approximately 4 to 10 nm). It is noted that thesecond to seventh barrier layers 25 and the mixed layers had the samegrowth time, but had a difference in the growth rate along the lengthdirection of the semiconductor rod 10. Due to this, as shown in a TEMimage mentioned later, the barrier layer 25 and the mixed layer do notnecessarily have the same thickness.

The cross section of the thus-obtained rod-shaped light emitting portion5 was observed with the TEM. FIG. 7 is a TEM image of the entire crosssection of the rod-shaped light emitting portion 5, and FIG. 8 is a TEMimage of a part of the cross section of the rod-shaped light emittingportion 5. From the TEM image of FIG. 8, the side surfaces 10 c and theridge line 10 r of the semiconductor rod 10, as well as the well layers21, the ridge portions 22, and the barrier layers 25 of the active layer20 can be confirmed.

In the TEM image of FIG. 8, the active layer 20 can be observed toinclude the barrier layers 25, the well layers 21, and the ridgeportions 22. Each well layer 21 extends in the direction parallel to theside surface 10 c of the semiconductor rod 10. The well layer 21 (darkgray part) has an extending direction thereof changed at a position of aline (imaginary line v) that connects the ridge line 10 r of thesemiconductor rod 10 and the ridge line 5 r of the rod-shaped lightemitting portion 5. The ridge portion 22 (linear thin gray part) islocated at a bent part of the well layer 21 and thereby separates thewell layers 21, located on both sides of the ridge portion 22. It isnoted that the layer grown at the outermost periphery, shown in the TEMimage of FIG. 8, is a GaN barrier layer (the seventh layer). A part ofthe outermost peripheral portion is colored in dark gray, but this issupposed to be because the growth of the layer was terminated hereintentionally.

Regarding all of the six well layers 21 stacked in the thicknessdirection of the active layer 20, it is found that the adjacent welllayers 21 were separated by the ridge portion 22 arranged along theimaginary line v.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 Light emitting element-   5, 6 Rod-shaped light emitting portion-   10, 16 First conductivity type semiconductor rod (semiconductor rod)-   10 c, 16 c Side surface of semiconductor rod-   20, 26 Active layer-   21 Well layer-   22 Ridge portion-   25 Barrier layer-   30, 36 Second conductivity type semiconductor layer (semiconductor    layer)-   40 Base layer-   45 Buffer layer-   50 Growth substrate-   90, 91 Insulating film-   90 h Through hole

What is claimed is:
 1. A light emitting element comprising: a substrate;a base layer disposed on the substrate; at least one rod-shaped lightemitting portion comprising: a first conductivity type semiconductor roddisposed on the base layer and having a plurality of side surfacesarranged to form a polygonal column shape, an active layer formed of asemiconductor and covering the side surfaces of the first conductivitytype semiconductor rod, and a second conductive type semiconductor layercovering the active layer, wherein: the active layer comprises aplurality of well layers respectively disposed over at least twoadjacent side surfaces among the plurality of side surfaces of the firstconductivity type semiconductor rod, adjacent well layers among theplurality of well layers are separated from each other along a ridgeline where the at least two adjacent side surfaces are in contact witheach other, the active layer further comprises a ridge portion formed ofa semiconductor and disposed on the ridge line, the ridge portionconnecting the adjacent well layers, the base layer includes a firstregion on which the first conductivity type semiconductor rod isprovided, and a second region on which the first conductivity typesemiconductor rod is not provided, and a thickness of the second regionis smaller than a thickness of the first region.
 2. The light emittingelement according to claim 1, wherein the second region surrounds thefirst region in a top view.
 3. The light emitting element according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one rod-shaped light emitting portioncomprises a plurality of rod-shaped light emitting portions which areconnected in parallel to each other by a light transmissive electrode.4. The light emitting element according to claim 2, wherein the at leastone rod-shaped light emitting portion comprises a plurality ofrod-shaped light emitting portions which are connected in parallel toeach other by a light transmissive electrode.
 5. The light emittingelement according to claim 3, wherein: the light transmissive electrodecomprises: a first light transmissive electrode which is formed on theplurality of rod-shaped light emitting portions; and a second lighttransmissive electrode which contacts with a surface of the first lighttransmissive electrode, the second transmissive electrode extends to theupper side of the second region of base layer, and the secondtransmissive electrode and the second region of the base layer areelectrically insulated from each other by an insulating film.
 6. Thelight emitting element according to claim 4, wherein: the lighttransmissive electrode comprises: a first light transmissive electrodewhich is formed on the plurality of rod-shaped light emitting portions;and a second light transmissive electrode which contacts with a surfaceof the first light transmissive electrode, the second transmissiveelectrode extends to the upper side of the second region of base layer,and the second transmissive electrode and the second region of the baselayer are electrically insulated from each other by an insulating film.7. The light emitting element according to claim 5, wherein a surfacearea of a portion where the first light transmissive electrode isexposed from the second light transmissive electrode is larger than asurface area of a portion where the first light transmissive electrodeand the second light transmissive electrode overlap each other.
 8. Thelight emitting element according to claim 5, wherein a surface area of aportion where the first light transmissive electrode is exposed from thesecond light transmissive electrode is larger than a surface area of aportion where the first light transmissive electrode and the secondlight transmissive electrode overlap each other.
 9. The light emittingelement according to claim 6, wherein the insulating film comprisesSiO₂.
 10. The light emitting element according to claim 8, wherein theinsulating film comprises SiO₂.
 11. The light emitting element accordingto claim 1, wherein the base layer is GaN layer.
 12. The light emittingelement according to claim 6, wherein the base layer is GaN layer. 13.The light emitting element according to claim 12, wherein the GaN layerincludes Si.
 14. The light emitting element according to claim 5,further comprising: a first electrode disposed on the second region; anda second electrode disposed on the insulating film by interposing thesecond light transmissive electrode.
 15. The light emitting elementaccording to claim 6, further comprising: a first electrode disposed onthe second region; and a second electrode disposed on the insulatingfilm by interposing the second light transmissive electrode.
 16. Thelight emitting element according to claim 1, wherein the substrate ismade of sapphire having an off angle of 0.5° to 2.0° with respect to(0001) plane as a growth surface.
 17. The light emitting elementaccording to claim 1, wherein an aspect ratio of the rod-shaped lightemitting portion is 2 or more and 20 or less.
 18. The light emittingelement according to claim 3, wherein the light transmissive electrodescomprise light transmissive conductive material.